Read the reviews here.
If you have entered the contest to win a FREE KINDLE, please remember the winner will be announced on 9/2 at Suzanne’s blog. Be sure to stop by
the blogs on Suzanne’s
blog tour – many have copies of Amish Values for Your Family to give
away.

About the book:

For readers who long for strong families that know how to truly enjoy life
together, there is much to learn from the Amish. Values like community,
forgiveness, simple living, obedience, and more can be your family
legacy--without selling your car, changing your wardrobe, or moving out to farm
country.

In AmishValues for Your Family,
bestselling author Suzanne Woods Fisher
shows how you can adopt the wisdom of the Amish when it comes to family
matters. In this inspiring and practical book readers will find charming true
stories interlaced with solid, biblical advice about parenting, marriage, and
all aspects of family life. As readers get an intimate glimpse into the
everyday lives of real Amish families, they will learn to prioritize what's
truly important, simplify decision-making, slow down as a family, safeguard
time together, and let go when the time comes.

Recently, I was selected to participate in this blog tour for Suzanne W. Fisher's newest release,Amish Values for Your Family: What We Can Learn from the Simple Life. Having read a few of her books (and reviewed them too!) previously, I can't tell you how excited I was to participate in this tour. I do admit, freely, that I was unsure of how I would tie this blog post into my life. We were asked to pick one chapter from the book and relate it to our own family life. There were so many lessons that I learned, it is very hard to just pick one to relate to. Ironically enough, the two that I am most torn between are: family vacations and the (a) circle of life. Could I be torn between two more different subjects? I guess I am having problems choosing because we experienced both this summer.

Let's go with Family Vacations and call it a post!!

We were introduced to our family vacation spot, the Outer Banks of North Carolina by my inlaws (Hubs' brother and his wife) way back when our oldest were both one. 8 years ago. Hard to believe it has been that long. (We skipped the year the kids were two but have been back every year since.) Specifically, we visit Hatteras Island.

When we first started going to the OBX (Outer Banks) it was a huge Hubs side of the family get together. We had many families going and staying in one extra large house. We would go to the beaches together during the day, build bonfires at night and hand out at our pool. We would take the ferry to Ocracoke Island and have lunch together at a local pub. Shop together for food and souvenirs.

In this chapter, Suzanne points out that "Sometimes, the simplest things in life are the very best." I agree wholeheartedly. While I enjoy our vacations to the heart of Florida, to Walt Disney World, I have to say that there is nothing I enjoy more then spending time together, as a family, on Hatteras Island. In the OBX, our children got the chance to know their cousins that were older than them and not seen as often as they would have if they were around the same ages. The got to know their aunts and uncles for a whole week and learned to love them more than they already do. They were part of a huge family, not our little network of 5. They learned to appreciate and respect their family members. On the flip side, the families without small children any longer, were able to enjoy the little ones: swimming, giggling, playing in the sand. Things their older children might not do as readily. The week was always filled with smiles and laughter.

Last year, we were down to just two families going down. We made the best of it and still had a great time! This year, the two families went down on separate weeks but were still able to get together one day to chit chat and hang out. It was awesome. Our vacation this year was a totally different experience for us, with only our family but we still made memories our children will hold dear.

I can only hope that our children love the slower pace of life and the unspoiled beauty offered on Hatteras Island and that they will continue to bring their families to vacation with us after they have grown. (On a separate note, please include our friends on Hatteras Island in your prayers as they struggle to recover after being dealt a terrible blow by Hurricane Irene last week.)

This is another book by Suzanne Woods Fisher that I absolutely loved. There were many stories - some funny, some sad, all full of life lessons that we can apply to our every day. What a better society I think we could be if we all just lived a little simpler.

Please note that I received a copy of this book free of charge from the publisher in exchange for my honest review which I am pleased to present here. No monetary compensation was received.

7 comments:

Heather
said...

Thanks for sharing Kristie! I want to go there myself! I am so relieved that your vacation was well over by the time Irene blew through, and I hope that all of those hit by the hurricane recover quickly. I will have to check out this book! Anything that takes us out of the whirlwind of life and puts love and family into perspective is well worth the time~!

Hi Kristie!What a great story to read--loved your insights about family vacations, enjoying simple pleasures. Made me want to be there! Thanks for being a part of the blog tour for Amish Values, Kristie. Warmly, Suzanne

Slowing down is definitely something I would love to learn to do. I just don't know how these days. Even on our vacation, we were all go go go. We spent plenty of time in the pool, eating suppers togethers, but we crammed in aquariums, shopping and putt putt in there a lot too. I've got to slow down... thanks for the reminder!

That sounds like a great book. I'll have to check it out! I'm constantly trying to remind my family that it isn't always about how much you can stuff into a vacation but rather how much time together...

It's true that the simplest vacations are often the best! When I was a child, our family had a motorhome that we would drive all over the country, and every destination was literally PACKED with sight-seeing destinations and tours and other opportunities for learning.

While we enjoyed all of it, as an adult I have come to prefer the quiet of a beach vacation... just lounging on the sound and listening to the ocean, or camping in a cabin in the woods... building a fire at night, reading during the day, just enjoying nature.

For my kids I hope to be able to provide a mix of the two styles of vacations. Educational vacays are definitely important (I mean, who DOESN'T want to see the Grand Canyon, right?), but it's also important to just spend time together, enjoying each others company.

I'm stopping by from voiceBoks members to remember. I hope you have a wonderful weekend!